“Lana Jones and Daniel Gaudiello, dashingly costumed in red, black and gold, opened the evening with a pas de deux, La Favorita. Both have strong, sure techniques and it was a joy to watch them dance together. But what made this item the stand-out of the evening for me was the ability of Jones and Gaudiello to project emotion off the stage and into the audience. We weren't seated in a space enclosed by walls and a roof and the extent of the "auditorium" was vast, so being able to project in such a situation was some feat”

“A second highlight for me was Rachel Rawlins and Ty King-Wall dancing the pas de deux from Giselle Act 2. Rawlins is such a mature artist and captured beautifully the ethereal qualities of Giselle”

“I was also impressed by Juliet Burnett and Andrew Killian who danced the pas de deux from Nutcracker. Burnett was poised and controlled in one of the most classical of pas de deux. Killian was a suitably caring cavalier and danced his solos with great style.”The Canberra Times, 20 March 2012

“If anyone needed proof of the importance of art in daily life then surely the attendance at the Telstra Ballet in the Park is a shining example of the value people place on it. Thousands braved the prospect of a drenching to attend this one-off performance of the most beautiful and esoteric of the performing arts, classical ballet, offered on this occasion by the Australian Ballet as a gift to celebrate their 50th Year. Many who attended had probably never been to a ballet performance before, but their curiosity was rewarded with a truly remarkable performance which they are likely to remember fondly for years.”

“This was the first time Canberra audiences had had the opportunity to see Chengwu Guo, but even those with only the most rudimentary knowledge of ballet, quickly realised that they were watching an extraordinary performance from a remarkable young dancer, so that when he made his second appearance, this time in the showy Le Corsaire pas de deux, for which he was partnered by Miwako Kubato, Chengwu was greeted with cheers.”

“Less showy perhaps, but equally exciting, was the beautiful The Nutcracker pas de deux, elegantly danced by Juliet Burnet and Andrew Kylian to the music of Tchaikovsky, and the supremely romantic Giselle Act 2 pas de deux, for which Ty King-wall partnered another Canberran, Rachel Rawlins, who appeared to float around the moon-lit stage as lightly as thistledown.”Canberra Critics Circle, 17 March 2012